Class Trial
We returned to the courtroom, which had two fewer people than last time. In their places were portraits with crossed out faces, but while Mizuhara-kun's X looked like Kurogane-kun's, Sakuragi-kun's looked like it was made out of broken finish line ribbons.
I also noticed a change to the surrounding walls. While the courtroom for the first trial had been largely brick red, now, it was mostly blue, as if it was the color of water.
"All right, you bastards," Monokuma said. "Court is now in session for the trial of... forget it. It's your job to figure out who killed Mizuhara-kun, if you want to live. Of course, it's the blackened's job to make sure you don't, if they want to live. Time for this game of cat and mouse to begin!"
"Before we start, I have a question," Sensei said. "This seems to be a poisoning, but Sugiura-san cooked and served the deadly stew, while Mizuhara-kun himself ate it of his own free will. Is the person who poisoned it the culprit?"
"Yes indeed!" Monokuma said. "The blackened in this case is whoever added the 'special ingredient' that did poor Mizuhara-kun in. Of course, that might just be Mizuhara-kun himself if he wanted to shuffle off this mortal coil that badly!"
"So in other words, he might have committed suicide?" Sensei said.
"Not telling!" Monokuma said. "All I said was that it's a possibility. For all you know, something besides the stew killed him."
As disturbing as it was to consider, suicide was a possibility in this killing game. If people could be pushed far enough to take someone else's life in order to escape, then perhaps they could also be pushed to take their own.
"It may be possible that Mizuhara-kun committed suicide," I said, "but some things don't add up. For one, he was shocked and terrified as the poison started affecting him. That certainly doesn't sound like the behavior of someone who expects and wants to die."
"Maybe he was just acting," Hoshino-kun said. "He might've wanted us to think he'd been murdered so that we'd pick the wrong culprit and get executed."
"It's possible," I said, "but why do you think he'd do that? Sakuragi-kun's murder of Kurogane-kun was largely motivated by his desire to survive and escape. Even if Mizuhara-kun wanted us dead, then it's a bit hard to believe that he'd go with a method of killing us that would also involve his death."
Others murmured in agreement.
"Yeah, I agree," Fukuda-kun said. "Some people are willing to die for a cause they believe in, but even if Mizuhara wasn't close to anyone here, I don't think he hated us enough to give his life to wipe us all out."
"Maybe his death wouldn't be guaranteed," Iwasawa-san said. "Miss Mitamura, with the help of Miss Miura and Miss Edogawa, tried to save him. If they'd succeeded, his plan wouldn't even have started."
I nodded. If I wanted to kill myself, then I could simply lock myself in my room, write a suicide note and hang myself with my necktie, preferably when everyone else had an alibi. No one would be able to save me, and if they found my body, they'd be able to rule out the possibility that I was murdered.
Of course, that was if I wanted to commit suicide, and there were many reasons why I didn't. I knew that if I died, my family and friends outside, as well as some of those trapped here with me, would be sad- after all, I still mourned Mizuhara-kun, even if he wasn't entirely a friend. I felt a sense of duty to the group, and so believed I was obligated to stay alive to help them in class trials and with escaping the school. Lastly, and most simply, I didn't want to die so young and with so much I still wanted to do with my life, and knew most of my classmates felt the same way. Three people had died so far and a fourth would soon join them, but at least no one was choosing death.
"Besides," Sugiura-san said, "Mizuhara-san never set foot in the kitchen while I was preparing the stew. Setting aside why he'd kill himself or why he'd do so in this manner, he couldn't have poisoned the stew pot."
Iwasawa-san let out a sigh of relief. From what I'd heard, the Bible said that people who killed themselves would go to Hell for eternity, so it was clear that she was glad she could hold out hope that Mizuhara-kun was in a better place now.
"That's right," Fukuda-kun said. "For the record, who, besides you, went in the kitchen?"
"Let's see..." Sugiura-san said. "Miura-san checked on me around the time I started dinner. Iwasawa-san stopped by a few minutes later, when I had all the ingredients in the pot. Yuuki-san came by a few minutes before the stew was finished, and had a taste, as did I. Shortly before I served it, Mitamura-san showed up, to see how I was coming along."
"So someone poisoned the pot after Yuuki came in?" Tezuka-kun said. "Mitamura seems pretty suspicious, if you ask me."
"That is impossible, Tezuka-san," Mitamura-san said. "Except for Sugiura-san, who was busy serving dinner, everyone had at least some of the stew. If the pot itself had been poisoned, so, too, would all of our bowls."
"But Mizuhara-kun's the only one who died," Akasaka-san said. "Is it possible that the culprit poisoned one bowl and hoped it would kill a random person?"
"Good point," Inoue-kun said. "It doesn't matter who you kill as long as you get away with it, after all. Besides, if you graduate, everyone else dies, remember?"
"Perhaps," Mitamura-san said, "but it's also possible that the culprit specifically chose Mizuhara-san. The culprit most likely knew which bowl would go to Mizuhara-san, and could have applied the poison directly to that bowl."
"Really?" Yuuki-san said. "It's not like there's names or other marks on the bowls- they all look the same. I don't think even Anzu-chan could tell the poisoned bowl apart from the others."
"Maybe she couldn't," Tezuka-kun said, "but as long as the poisoner doesn't eat any of the soup, they won't be in any danger."
The courtroom fell silent for a moment. Everyone knew where Tezuka-kun was going with his argument, and Hoshino-kun was the first to point it out.
"And there's only one person who fits the description," Hoshino-kun said. "It's you, Sugiura."
Sugiura-san looked taken aback, and for good reason. While she, as the cook, was definitely suspicious, it was far too early to say with any degree of certainty that she was the culprit.
"Wh-Why me?" Sugiura-san said.
"You were in the kitchen for the entire time and responsible for serving it," Hoshino-kun said. "You could have put poison in Mizuhara's bowl, handed him the bowl and watch him poison himself."
"Would the killer need to specifically choose Mizuhara-kun?" Sensei said. "As Akasaka-san and Inoue-kun said, anyone would do for someone wishing to graduate."
"They may have chosen a specific target for a personal reason," Katsura-san said. "Perhaps the victim, whom we shall call Person B, had some piece of information the culprit, Person A, wished to keep hidden. Even if, for example, Person C murdered Person D and was executed, Person B would still have Person A's information, and thus be a threat. As such, Persona A would probably plot a murder if Person B's information could potentially ruin their life or facilitate their murder."
I remembered the last real conversation I'd had with Mizuhara-kun, in which he vaguely suggested that he had some important information, but didn't say what- or whose- it was. For the moment, I decided not to mention it, since while we were certain that he'd been killed over what had been in his notepad, we didn't know who would kill him.
"But at the same time, we don't know whose information Minato-kun had," Yuuki-san said.
"I do," Mitamura-san said. "Mizuhara-san was carrying his notepad with him when he died, and I looked at it during the investigation. I believe listening to it will shed some light on his killer."
Sensei's eyes widened for a moment, as she likely had the same thought I did.
Mitamura-san knelt down, then stood up, holding a notepad. She turned it on and played it for all of us.
Anzu Sugiura isn't just the Ultimate Waitress... she's also the Ultimate Poisoner! But she's not too proud of that, though. Bring that up and she might just kill you... or maybe herself!
Instead of showing us a cartoonish image of Sugiura-san, the notepad showed us some document, similar to those Sensei had been looking at when she'd first went to the library. Apparently, Sugiura-san had been one of the suspects in the case in question.
Now who has your weakness? Let's see...
Anzu Sugiura!
A stunned silence reigned in the courtroom, and Sugiura-san went white as a sheet. I could see why Mizuhara-kun had been unsure what to do with this information- now that it had gotten out, Sugiura-san was the prime suspect in his murder, since she had the most reason to kill to keep it secret.
A part of me was tempted to consider this a slam dunk. If Sugiura-san was, indeed, guilty, she would have to die, but the rest of us would survive, and we would perhaps get justice for an unpunished murder. Another part, however, suspected that the true killer was someone else, and that person was counting on us to make this knee-jerk reaction.
"Th-That's a lie!" Sugiura-san said. "W-We know Monokuma c-can't be t-trusted, after all."
"Sugiura-san has a point," Katsura-san said. "My notepad said Miura-san has my weakness, but in reality, Akasaka-san got it. Perhaps not all the information is accurate."
"That's right," I said. "I actually have Yuuki-san's weakness. It's possible that not all the information is reliable."
"Maybe you're right," Hoshino-kun said, "but if what we just heard is complete BS, then why's Sugiura panicking?"
"I'm not saying it isn't," I said, "but given how little we know each other, and how on-edge everyone is, then even if it's a lie, Sugiura-san does have reason to be worried about how we'll take it."
I felt like I was grasping at straws here, but something seemed a little too obvious. Everyone knew Sugiura-san had made the dish, so why would she poison it? If there was any chance of her "true" talent being discovered, why would she use it for murder?
"That may be so, but I believe we have a strong basis for naming Sugiura-san as the blackened," Mitamura-san said. "Since Mizuhara-san knew about her identity, she would likely want to kill him to keep it a secret. Furthermore, Sugiura-san's knowledge of Mizuhara-san's weakness would help her plot a murder."
"What about the poison?" Fukuda-kun said.
"I believe Edogawa-san found some in the refrigerator," Mitamura-san said. "Sugiura-san must have obtained it from the vending machine, likely exulting at having found such a deadly poison to use, and so plotted to use it to kill Mizuhara-san."
Judging from the time when the poison went missing, the culprit- whether Sugiura-san or anyone else- had ample time to come up with a murder plan.
"Yes, but-," Sensei began, before Sugiura-san cut her off.
"I..I didn't kill anyone..." Sugiura-san said.
"And, as the person responsible for making and serving the stew, you had the most chances to give Mizuhara-san the poison," Mitamura-san said. "As such, you are the most likely culprit."
"You...You..." Sugiura-san said, stammering and trembling.
I looked around. Most of our eyes fell on Sugiura-san, and I could see the same suspicion in them that had been cast on Sakuragi-kun late in the first trial. Perhaps some of us had hesitated to condemn him to death, since he was partially a victim of his circumstances, but this time, we were possibly dealing with someone who had killed before coming here, and had proven all too willing to kill again to save herself. Something still didn't seem entirely right about this, but how could I convince everyone?
"Sugiura-san, please confess," Mitamura-san said. "If you do, we will be able to uncover the truth behind-"
"Like hell I will!" Sugiura-san shouted, a fierce glare on her face. "You set me up, you self-righteous bitch!"
Everyone was stunned. Some of us had our mouths gaping open, and a few simply stared in silence. While none of us knew each other very well, we'd spent enough time around each other to get a general feel for each other's personalities, and maybe even learn a few of our classmates' quirks. The only thing most of us knew about Sugiura-san, apart from her talent, was that she was a well-mannered individual, so it was a bit of a shock to have even that thrown into doubt.
"Surprised?" Sugiura-san said. "Well, unlike our dear leader thought, I didn't become Ultimate Waitress by being some empty-headed bimbo. That polite, sweet, demure girl you knew? It was all just an act, one I put on to fit in. If I get in trouble for being less than absolutely polite to the customers, then it won't do to show this side of me, will it?"
"Of course not," Mitamura-san said. "I appreciate that you are finally being honest with us, Sugiura-san- it would seem we now know your true personality. Now, all that is left is to confess your murder, and you can die with a clear conscience."
"Very funny, Mitamura," Sugiura-san said. "I suppose lying and throwing people under the bus comes naturally to a two-faced shrew like you."
"Please calm down, both of you," Sensei said. "Sugiura-san, you must admit that you are a suspect at this point. However, Mitamura-san, I believe the evidence against Sugiura-san is inconclusive."
"How so?" Mitamura-san said. "You found the bottle of poison inside the refrigerator, did you not?"
Sensei nodded, but then held up the bottle.
"Take a look at the back," Sensei said. "The poison apparently causes the eyes to be bloodshot, but according to Miura-san, Mizuhara-kun had no such symptoms. As such, it was likely planted to make us assume that it was the murder weapon."
"But who, apart from Sugiura-san, could have planted it?" Mitamura-san said.
"You did," Sugiura-san said. "I didn't mention this before, but when you stopped by the kitchen, I heard you open the refrigerator door. That must have been when you hid it in there."
"A likely story," Mitamura-san said dismissively. "After all, as our prime suspect, you have the most reason to lie. Unless you come up with something- whether true or false- to convince us that you are not the killer, your life is forfeit."
As hesitant as I was to take sides in this argument, the evidence I had seemed to line up with Sugiura-san's position. Perhaps by backing her up, we could get a step closer to finding the truth.
"It is possible," I said. "Unless Sugiura-san opened the refrigerator after you did, then you could have placed it in there. Sensei and I probably would have found it fairly soon if we'd looked in the refrigerator first."
"Besides, there's another problem," Yuuki-san said, "I get that Anzu-chan's suspicious because she prepared dinner, but don't you think it's a bit too obvious?"
"I do not understand, Yuuki-san," Mitamura-san said. "No one would question Sugiura-san's presence in the kitchen."
"Yeah, but everyone knows she was in there," Yuuki-san said, "so Anzu-chan must've known she'd be the first suspect if she'd planned the murder. It'd be a lot more suspicious if someone popped in and out, like you did, Reiko-chan."
"She wasn't the only one," Sugiura-san said. "As we said before, you, Iwasawa and Miura also went in the kitchen."
"Yeah, but I'm pretty sure we can rule out Kaori-chan and Momo-chan," Yuuki-san said. "I tasted the stew, so nothing seemed to be wrong with it."
"But what about the bowls?" Fukuda-kun said. "We already established that the culprit poisoned Mizuhara's bowl, didn't we?"
"We did," Iwasawa-san said, "but I didn't see any bowls out when I came in, so Miss Miura couldn't have done it."
"That's true," Sugiura-san said. "Besides, I was only getting out ingredients at the moment, and didn't let Miura out of my sight at any point, so it's safe to rule her out."
I nodded gratefully. We'd gotten close to convicting the wrong person, so the last thing I wanted was to be erroneously named as a possible suspect.
"I also think we can rule out Iwasawa-san," I said. "While she's normally the cook, she didn't hear that Sugiura-san was cooking until just before dinner. She would have had to drastically alter her plan at the last minute, which would have been highly risky."
For a moment, I reflected on how one person had known about tonight's dinner having a different cook, but didn't bring it up until I could prove it.
"Perhaps," Mitamura-san said, "but given the time limit, this was the last chance for the killer to poison someone during a meal."
"That's right," Sugiura-san said, "and who do you think came up with the idea of making me cook dinner?"
"I did," Mitamura-san said. "However, I had some of the stew that I supposedly poisoned, a move that would have been extremely risky if I had dumped the Monokuma poison in the stew bowl, without knowing which bowl I would get."
"But you didn't," Sensei said. "First, the bottle of poison doesn't even have a drop left in it- it's far too thoroughly cleaned out for a hasty poisoning job. Second, considering how volatile it is, the poisoner would need to be extremely careful with it. Third, the poison kills immediately, and Mizuhara-kun lasted a few minutes."
"That's right," I said. "Besides, Mitamura-san, as you said, everyone besides Sugiura-san had some of the soup, but only Mizuhara-kun died. If the poison had been dumped into the stew, everyone who even had a taste would have died quickly but no one else noticed anything even slightly odd about theirs."
"Now that I think about it, there was something odd about it," Katsura-san said. "I could have sworn I tasted a faint hint of peanut."
"So did I," Akasaka-san said. "Sugiura-san, did you add any nuts?"
"Not at all," Sugiura-san said, "since one of my aunts- my father's younger brother's wife- is allergic to them, and my parents serve it every time we have her over. Here, have a look at the list of ingredients."
Sugiura-san passed the list around. When I had my turn, I took a quick glance at it, and saw that among the various ingredients- meat, vegetables, broth, all sorts of other things- no nuts were listed. After reading it, it became clear how Mizuhara-kun had been killed.
"I've had my suspicions before, but now I'm certain," I said. "Mizuhara-kun was allergic to nuts."
"How do you know this?" Mitamura-san said.
"Back when we were investigating the first floor, I ran into Mizuhara-kun in the kitchen," I said. "He was looking all over for anything that people might have been allergic to, even if he wasn't willing to say why."
I turned to Sensei, and she silently nodded, before reaching into her pocket.
"I suspected that myself after seeing that his symptoms didn't match the poison," Sensei said, "as well as finding a bag of trail mix- which contains nuts- in the trash inside the kitchen. I didn't know for certain until I found this in the nurse's office, and found this."
Sensei held out Mizuhara-kun's syringe, having finally obtained the evidence to make it relevant to the trial.
"Wait, when did you find this?" Mitamura-san said, suddenly raising her voice. "Was it just before the trial?"
"Indeed," Sensei said. "Your keeping me out of the nurse's office was due to one of two reasons- distrust or fear I would find something incriminating. I also noticed that you'd removed the notepad from Mizuhara-kun's backpack, likely to keep that bit of evidence to yourself."
"And where would I obtain the nuts?" Mitamura-san said. "I searched the kitchen on the first day, and did not find any in there."
I sighed and shook my head, wondering why Mitamura-san was playing dumb at a time like this.
"From the vending machine in the faculty lounge," I said, "which might also explain where you got the bottle of Monokuma Poison to use as the fake 'murder weapon.'"
"Anyone could have obtained those peanuts- or even the Monokuma Poison, if they were lucky enough," Mitamura-san said. "But Sugiura-san received Mizuhara-san's information, so she is the only one who could have known about his allergies."
"No, I didn't," Sugiura-san said. "Want me to prove it?"
Sugiura-san then lifted up her notepad for all to see, then turned it on.
Momo Iwasawa is a simple farm girl who can't figure out technology to save her life... maybe even literally.
Now, who has your weakness? Let's see...
Minato Mizuhara!
People let out gasps, not at what information the notepad had, but at what it didn't have. Iwasawa-san's weakness was almost useless information, but if Sugiura-san didn't have Mizuhara-kun's weakness, it made her a much less likely suspect. Mitamura-san's composure faltered for a moment, one of the few times I'd seen her taken completely by surprise.
"What is the meaning of this?" Mitamura-san said. "I was certain that Mizuhara-san's notepad was accurate!"
"Whoopsie!" Monokuma said. "It looks like the details were wrong. Sugiura-san was the one who was supposed to get Mizuhara-kun's weakness, but it ended up going to Mitamura-san instead."
I was very doubtful that this was an accident. It was much more in character for Monokuma to confuse us so that we would suspect Sugiura-san, the obvious suspect. Regardless of how it happened, two likely suspects had been reduced to one person who was almost certainly the culprit. It was difficult to imagine what the long-term ramifications of accusing that person would be, but I knew that if we didn't identify the culprit, the rest of us would be dead by tomorrow morning.
"Then that settles it," I said. "I believe that the person who poisoned Mizuhara-kun... is you, Mitamura-san."
Mitamura-san frowned at me disapprovingly. As composed as she usually was, I expected a more extreme response from her given the gravity of my accusation, so maybe she wasn't taking me completely seriously. Neither was Iwasawa-san, who seemed slightly bothered, but didn't seem as outraged as I'd thought over the young lady she respected most being accused of murder.
"This is neither the time nor the place for unsubstantiated assertions, Miura-san," Mitamura-san said. "If you intend to claim that I am the blackened, you will need evidence that proves I did it."
"Which I have," I said. "As Sugiura-san said, you were the one who suggested that Sugiura-san make the stew, essentially choosing her as the cook and making her your 'fall guy' for the plan, just like Sakuragi-kun did with me. Furthermore, Akasaka-san said that before lunch, she saw you meet with Mizuhara-kun. It's possible that he told you about Sugiura-san being the Ultimate Poisoner."
Akasaka-san nodded, silently confirming that I was telling the truth.
"It is possible," Mitamura-san said, "but there is no proof for it. If my goal was to frame Sugiura-san, I would need to know her talent in advance, would I not?"
"Not necessarily," Kagami-kun said. "Since the blackened's goal is twofold- killing someone and passing the blame off on someone else- it's best if they plan out both parts in advance, rather than just winging it and hoping we get the wrong person, but they can skip that step in a pinch. I agree with Edogawa-san that the specific fall guy doesn't matter, but it does help if you're able to make someone look suspicious and throw us onto the wrong track."
The idea that any of us- inadvertently or deliberately- could be leading us to a false verdict that would result in our deaths was a disturbing one, one that made me question the conclusion I'd arrived at. Still, even though Sugiura-san had been falsely accused, we'd learned a lot by discussing her possible guilt, so I believed that at the very least, the same would apply to Mitamura-san.
"That's true, Kagami-kun," I said, "but at this point, if anyone knew whose information Mizuhara-kun had in advance, it would most likely be Mitamura-san."
"That's a valid theory, Miura-san," Sensei said, "but for now, we should probably stick with what we know for certain. Mitamura-san began behaving suspiciously the moment Mizuhara-kun's body was discovered."
"By keeping everyone else out of the nurse's office and making you stay in the kitchen?" I said. "That definitely seems like the actions of someone who has something to hide."
"That, too," Sensei said. "What I'm mainly thinking about is her having you come to the nurse's office alone."
"Alone?" I said. "You mean as opposed to coming with you- oh, I get it!"
"What's wrong with that?" Tezuka-kun said. "She didn't want us moving around and messing up the crime scene, did she?"
"It's probably related to the body discovery announcement rules," I said. "If I had come to the nurse's office with Sensei, then the two of us, together with Mitamura-san, would have been the first three people to lay eyes on Mizuhara-kun's lifeless body. As we saw in the first case, the body discovery announcement did not play until Fukuda-kun found Sakuragi-kun's body, so the culprit is not counted. Therefore, the culprit would have been narrowed down to one of the three in the nurse's office."
"Perhaps, but consider this," Mitamura-san said, "I tried to save Mizuhara-san's life, which would make me seem less suspicious than you or Edogawa-san in that case. It would be an unenviable position, but I would quickly be ruled out."
Sensei shook her had sadly. Perhaps she was also rethinking her perception of Mitamura-san, and questioning how benevolent many of Mitamura-san's actions truly were, now that Mitamura-san was the most likely culprit. Perhaps only Mitamura-san really knew the answer to that, but for now, we couldn't think of many possibilities that painted her in a favorable light.
"Upon further examination, I've realized that taking Mizuhara-kun to the nurse's office was part of your plan," Sensei said, sadly. "I always wondered why the syringe with Mizuhara-kun's name on it was in the medicine cabinet but now I know why- you stole it from Mizuhara-kun and hid it there. With everyone else occupied, and you guarding the crime scene until the trial, you're the only one who could have hidden this."
"Why would I need to do so?" Mitamura-san said. "If I wanted to let him die, all I needed to do was watch him perish."
I nodded to concede the point. If we'd been trapped in here for two years, then the syringe would no longer be good- I couldn't help but wonder how people with diabetes, asthma or other conditions requiring medication would fare in here. Still, useful or not, the syringe was clearly a dangerous piece of evidence, and I knew why Mitamura-san went as far as she did to keep it hidden.
"By doing so, you could hide the cause of death," I said. "If you hid the fact that Mizuhara-kun died of a peanut allergy, then you could convince everyone that Sugiura-san poisoned him. Doing so would not only be necessary to pin the crime on her, but also to hide the fact that the cause of death is something only you could have known about. Sensei only showed me the syringe just before the trial, so only the two of us and the culprit knew that."
Mitamura-san let out a long sigh, and remained silent for a moment. She was running out of arguments for our evidence, but probably knew that the moment she gave up, her life would be forfeit. Perhaps that was why Sakuragi-kun had been so desperate to make some kind of rebuttal when the finger of suspicion fell on him, even if, by doing so, he only ended up digging his own grave.
"I will admit that I am suspicious at this point," Mitamura-san said. "But what about my motive? What reason would I have to kill someone and let twelve others die?"
"You're seriously asking this question?" Hoshino-kun said. "Getting out of here was enough reason for Sakuragi, so what makes you think you're any different?"
Hoshino-kun raised a valid point, since the prospect of graduating was quite tempting. Still, understanding the killer's motives would be important to uncovering the truth, so Mitamura-san's question deserved an answer.
"I actually think Mitamura-san had a motive," Sensei said, "specifically, her weakness. She may not have had the chance to view it, but I believe most people can guess what theirs is. Yuuki-san, what would you say you think your weakness is?"
"Fear of blood, obviously," Yuuki-san said. "I mean, you all saw me pass out when Akito-kun was executed, right?"
I nodded. Yuuki-san fainting was far from the most memorable thing to happen that night, but it was a detail I couldn't forget. Ever since the killing game began in earnest, I'd found myself remembering small details more easily, since anything could become relevant to a class trial.
"Indeed," Sensei said. "I have the bad habit of forgetting to eat when I'm engrossed in something, so I was hardly surprised that Miura-san received that tidbit of information- only that Monokuma would consider something like that a weakness."
"Hey, it's not my fault not all of you drop dead if you eat something wrong," Monokuma said. "Some unlucky saps like Mizuhara-kun have secrets that threaten their lives or reputations, while others have secrets that are just plain embarrassing. That's just how the world works."
"Once again, Edogawa-san, you are simply jumping to conclusions," Mitamura-san said. "If, however, my weakness was something asinine like yours, I would have no reason to kill to keep it hidden."
"Perhaps," Sensei said. "Still, since you are the suspect now, it is up to you to share what you think your weakness might be."
A bead of sweat went down Mitamura-san's forehead.
"Y-You are simply making assumptions," Mitamura-san said, "assumptions that I refuse to dignify with a response."
Something had struck me as a little odd about this motive. For some people, like Mizuhara-kun, their weakness was a threat to their life, while for others, like Sugiura-san, it was a secret they desperately wanted to keep hidden. If Mitamura-san was indeed guilty, she'd likely been spurred to act because of the motive, but why?
"Actually, Sensei, I think it's possible that Mitamura-san learned about her own weakness," I said. "She didn't just guess- she actually knew."
"And how exactly would I obtain that knowledge?" Mitamura-san said. "If my weakness motivated me to kill Mizuhara-san by taking advantage of his peanut allergy, I would also need to know his weakness. If Monokuma-san is to be believed, I saw Mizuhara-san's weakness, so whose notepad did I view to learn about mine?"
I thought back to what Sensei had said- that I might know something that could prove to be an important clue to solving this mystery. I don't think she could have known this for a fact, given that I hadn't told anyone about that one event I'd witnessed, but Mitamura-san's question had helped me remember something important. She had been able to view one more notepad besides her own and Mizuhara-kun's, at least if my theory was correct.
"That's a good question," I said. "I'm almost certain that it was Iwasawa-san's."
"But mine didn't work," Iwasawa-san said. "Miss Mitamura tried to fix the notepad, but failed."
I paused to think for a moment, and looked around. While Mitamura-san's credibility had been damaged as a result of her attempt to frame Sugiura-san, and most of us considered her our prime suspect, I hadn't yet proven anything she'd said was a lie just yet. If I could do so now, then it would lay the groundwork for her conviction.
"What if that was a lie?" I said. "We concluded that the problem was with the battery, right?"
"We did," Iwasawa-san said, "but does that make any difference? A broken notepad's still broken, right?"
I nodded, having realized how Iwasawa-san had been deceived.
"Yes, but I just realized that it's possible to do a workaround," I said. "All Mitamura-san would have to do is unscrew the screws and swap your pad's battery with hers. Once she did that, she'd be able to view the information on yours, leaving you none the wiser. After all, she got a screwdriver, didn't she?"
A few people nodded, and no one tried to contradict me. Since Mitamura-san was the first person to show everyone else her murder weapon, that was deeply ingrained in their memories.
"B-But Miss Mitamura isn't that kind of person," Iwasawa-san said. "...Isn't she?"
Mitamura-san didn't say anything, which was frustrating. The idealistic side of me hoped that she'd say something to try to prove her innocence, while the more practical side of me hoped that if she was the culprit, she'd dig herself deeper and make her guilt more obvious to everyone. The fact that she did neither only upheld the status quo- some of us probably thought she did it, but wouldn't bet our lives on that.
"It looks like we're at an impasse, so I have a question for Monokuma," Inoue-kun said. "Under what circumstances do we move on to the vote?"
"That's easy!" Monokuma said. "Class trials last as long as there's time, and at least two students aren't completely sure who the blackened is."
I quickly checked my handbook and saw that Monokuma had added that as the tenth rule. While Monokuma was clearly making things up as he went along, it wasn't hard to see why this one was in place- even if a blackened argued their innocence until the end, if no one else believed them, we could proceed to convicting them. Of course, Sakuragi-kun's confession had meant that none of us doubted that he was guilty, and this wasn't the case this time.
"I see," Inoue-kun said. "I was kind of hoping you'd tell us how long we have left, but that's fine. I think Mitamura-san is our most likely suspect, but I'd rather not vote for her until we figure out how she learned that Mizuhara-kun was allergic to peanuts."
"Obviously the notepads," Fukuda-kun said, "but at this point, we only know about what Mizuhara and Sugiura's notepads say."
"Actually, Katsura-san and I showed our pads to Miura-san," Akasaka-san said, "but neither of them had Mizuhara-kun's weakness."
After a moment, I realized there was one piece of information we were missing, one that would exonerate Mitamura-san- or possibly condemn her. In order to solve the case, we'd need to answer Mitamura-san's question, by proving whose weakness she knew, and how she learned about hers, both of which were tied to one piece of evidence that Mitamura-san herself held. It was entirely Mitamura-san's prerogative to cooperative, but I hoped that if even part of her still cared about our well-being, she'd share this information with us.
"Mitamura-san, please show me your notepad," I said. "If you are innocent, it will clear you of suspicion, and if not, it will allow us to make the correct choice when it is time to vote."
Mitamura-san solemnly nodded, as if to acknowledge that she had nothing left to lose.
"Very well," Mitamura-san said with a sigh. "Since you have figured out this much, I might as well show you."
Mitamura-san reached into the pocket of her skirt and produced her notepad, turning it on. I was some distance away from her, but I could still hear it clearly. It showed a cartoonish illustration of Mizuhara-kun slumped over at his seat at a table, an open jar of peanut butter near him.
Minato Mizuhara has a severe allergy to nuts. Even a small taste of them can trigger a life-threatening allergic reaction, so keep that in mind if you'd like to bump him off.
Now who has your weakness? Let's see...
Momo Iwasawa!
Iwasawa-san let out a loud and sharp gasp the moment she saw her picture on Mitamura-san's notepad, and I saw the color drain from her face.
"No...!" Iwasawa-san said. "By giving Miss Mitamura my notepad, I caused her to commit murder?!"
I reached over and placed a hand on Iwasawa-san's shoulder. I knew all too well what she was feeling, because I was feeling it myself. If I'd never mentioned Monokuma's rule about redistributing unread notepads, perhaps Iwasawa-san would have never shown hers to Mitamura-san. What was done was done, though, and now that a murder had happened, we could only convict the culprit.
"I'm sorry, Iwasawa-san," I said. "I know you never meant for this to happen, but Mitamura-san has showed us that she knew Mizuhara-kun's weakness, and that you had hers. By doing so, she has essentially confessed."
"Just to play Devil's Advocate, what if Mitamura-san's notepad is wrong about Iwasawa-san having her weakness?" Katsura-san said. "It's already been established that Mizuhara-kun's mistakenly said that Sugiura-san had his information, and my notepad mistakenly said Miura-san had mine."
"That's a reasonable theory, Katsura-san, but it's ultimately beside the point," Sensei said. "Mitamura-san had assumed that Mizuhara-kun's information was correct- or at least that we would think it was- and that Sugiura-san had received his weakness. As such, it is most likely that her notepad was correct when it said Iwasawa-san had her weakness."
"Edogawa-san raises a good point," Akasaka-san said. "Besides, Katsura-san, until Miura-san showed us her pad, we thought that she also had your weakness."
"That's true," Katsura-san said. "I'm more or less positive Mitamura-san is guilty, but I wanted to clear that up."
Iwasawa-san looked completely heartbroken, as Sensei's analysis and Akasaka-san's observation more or less disproved the only remaining theory that suggested that she hadn't inadvertently caused Mitamura-san's crime- in fact, it suggested that Mitamura-san might have been planning a murder from when she first learned of her weakness. Still, we'd essentially proven Mitamura-san's guilt, and the only thing left was to convince everyone else of it, including those who didn't want to believe it.
"I know this will be hard for you to hear, Iwasawa-san," I said, "but please listen to my summary of the events of this case and let me know if you disagree with anything I say."
Iwasawa-san sadly nodded.
As you all know, Mizuhara-kun died of a fatal allergic reaction, induced as part of a scheme to kill him. His allergy to peanuts had been a tightly guarded secret... until Monokuma gave out all our weaknesses in an attempt to cause a murder.
First, let's look at how the culprit learned of this information. Contrary to what Mizuhara-kun's notepad said, Sugiura-san was not the one who learned of his weakness- the culprit did. For the moment, the information was harmless, since while the culprit had the means to murder him, they didn't have a reason... yet.
The culprit then learned that Iwasawa-san had their notepad, and tricked her into handing it over by promising to fix it. They accomplished it by using their screwdriver to install their own battery into Iwasawa-san's notepad, allowing them to see the contents. After taking a look and learning what was on it, the culprit replaced the original battery, then handed Iwasawa-san's notepad back, claiming that they could not repair it.
When Monokuma threatened to make our weakness public knowledge, the culprit was forced to act. Mizuhara-kun, similarly desperate, met with the culprit, and likely shared what was on his notepad, thus giving the culprit the idea to frame Sugiura-san. The culprit then convinced Sugiura-san to make dinner tonight, intending to frame her for the murder. Shortly before Sugiura-san served dinner, the culprit stopped by the kitchen, crushed some peanuts and put the powder into the stew pot in hopes of poisoning him. It would be harmless to everyone else, including them, but deadly to Mizuhara-kun. The culprit planted an empty bottle of poison in the refrigerator as a bit of false evidence, while stashing a bag full of trail mix in the trash.
Dinner began, and Mizuhara-kun eagerly dug in, not noticing the peanuts until he started having an allergic reaction. To make sure his fate was sealed, our culprit volunteered to take him to the nurse's office, while ordering Sensei and I to investigate the kitchen, and the rest of us to stay put. Once there, the culprit hid Mizuhara-kun's syringe away, to ensure that no one learned about his allergy. The culprit then sat back and watched Mizuhara-kun die, betrayed by someone he'd trusted to save him.
Meanwhile, Sensei and I searched the kitchen and found the bottle of poison. On the culprit's orders, I returned to inform the culprit of what had poisoned Mizuhara-kun, only to learn that it was too late. The culprit then dispatched me to summon everyone else, so that they could trigger the body discovery announcement and begin the investigation. There's only one person who could have known how to kill Mizuhara-kun in the manner they did, had a motive for doing so, and had an opportunity to carry out their plan.
That person is you, Reiko Mitamura-san!
The others remained silent. Iwasawa-san wasn't any happier about this turn of events, but wasn't able to argue back or even protest.
"So, Mitamura-san," I said. "Do you have any objections?"
Mitamura-san sighed and shook her head.
"None, Miura-san," Mitamura-san said. "I killed Mizuhara-san, using the method you described. I may be a failure as a leader, a liar, a murderer and a cheater, but I at least have enough decency to not be a sore loser."
"A cheater?" I said.
Mitamura-san paled for a moment, realizing that she'd said something she'd never intended to.
"Please forget you heard anything of the sort," Mitamura-san said. "Monokuma-san, seeing as how everyone knows I am the culprit, it is time for the vote, is it not?"
"You bet!" Monokuma said. "Everyone ready? Will you make the right choice, or the dreadfully wrong one?"
The time to vote came up once again. After selecting Sugiura-san, I briefly hesitated before casting my vote, knowing that once she was convicted, a terrible fate would await her. But while I thought of her, I also thought of Mizuhara-kun, whom she'd killed for selfish reasons; Sugiura-san, whom she'd tried to frame; Iwasawa-san, whose faith in Mitamura-san had been shattered; and the other nine spotless, whose fates were on the line. With a heavy heart, I then cast my vote for Mitamura-san.
Once again, the result came up, as a unanimous vote for Mitamura-san, and another "GUILTY" result.
Another eerie silence followed our second successful class trial, which was no more worthy of celebration than the first. Not only was yet another of us minutes away from death, but we'd had to confront the harsh truth- that even our leader, who'd sworn to lead us to freedom and safety, could kill given the right reason.
"Congratulations!" Monokuma said. "You bastards did it again! The killer this time, the blackened who killed Minato Mizuhara-kun is... Reiko Mitamura-san!"
Mitamura-san nodded solemnly. People who worked as hard as she did, tended to keep their eyes on the future- studying diligently to get into a good high school so they could get into a good college and get a good job- so she'd almost certainly never expected to die so young, in such a painful and humiliating manner. Nevertheless, she was determined to remain dignified, even if it was literally the last thing she did.
"Man, I've really got to hand it to you," Monokuma said. "I didn't think you'd actually find the killer this time, but the result was unanimous. Even Iwasawa-san voted correctly!"
Iwasawa-san, tears streaming down her face, could only shake her head.
"I... still can't accept this," Iwasawa-san said, "but if Miss Mitamura has confessed, then I'll believe her. So please, Miss Mitamura, tell us- Why would you do such a thing?"
"Essentially, it is as Miura-san figured out," Mitamura-san said. "Upon checking my pad, I noticed that you had my weakness. I trusted you to not act on the information, which I hoped was as banal as Miura-san's."
While my being outed as a former bed-wetter was certainly embarrassing, I had to admit that I was grateful that people didn't think less of me. Yuuki-san had freely volunteered this information because she didn't think it was anything to be ashamed of, a sentiment that everyone else seemed to share. Of course, reputation was very important, and a merely "embarrassing" tidbit could potentially cost someone their job in the real world, so perhaps Mitamura-san's concern was understandable.
"Still, I could not help but be curious about what information could be used against me," Mitamura-san said. "In a stroke of luck, you asked me for help with your tablet, and I obliged, offering to try to fix it. That, of course, was a ruse so that I could look at it myself- I could not resist the temptation to find out whatever secret she held. Once I had, I took the battery out and returned it to Iwasawa-san, claiming I was unable to fix it."
"All so no one could view what's on it?" Iwasawa-san said.
"Correct," Mitamura-san said. "That should have been the end of it all, until Monokuma-san threatened to broadcast our motives, and that useless lump of machinery became a threat to me."
"And then, you had a convenient murder victim to target," Sugiura-san said, "along with a scapegoat."
"That is true," Mitamura-san said. "Mizuhara-san came to me and showed me his notepad, hoping to warn me about a potential threat to the group. After hearing about Sugiura-san being the Ultimate Poisoner, I planned on having her cook dinner so that I could frame her, using the empty Monokuma poison bottle as a red herring."
"So that's why Mizuhara was shocked to hear that I had made dinner," Sugiura-san said.
"If he had asked, I had planned to say that I'd asked you to cook dinner in order to keep an eye on you," Mitamura-san said, "but in the end, I think he realized what I had done."
Mitamura's POV
When I reached the nurse's office with Mizuhara-san, I had him give me his backpack and lay down on the bed. In truth, I did not know how to save him, even if I wanted to, but I had to keep up appearances.
"G-Get... m-m...my syr...inge..." Mizuhara-san said. "I...In my b-b-back...p-pack. F-Front p-pock...et..."
"I understand," I said. "Please do not try to speak."
Following his instructions, I retrieved the syringe from his pack, seeing his name on it. Evidently, he'd come prepared for something like this to happen.
"Is this it?" I said.
Mizuhara-san nodded, possibly past the point at which he could speak.
"Good," I said.
I then opened the medicine cabinet and put the syringe in the back. As the saying went, to hide a tree, one must place it in a forest, and no one would think to look for it here... or so I thought, until Edogawa-san found it.
Mizuhara-san's eyes widened in horror, as he was conscious enough to realize that I had betrayed him. While I knew how to use a syringe, it may have been too late to save him.
"I am sorry," I said. It was a insincere apology for an unforgivable crime, so it rang hollow, even to me.
"T...T...Trusted... y-you..." Mizuhara-san said, barely loudly enough to be heard.
A few hoarse, sharp breaths later, Mizuhara-san's eyes closed, and the life left his body.
I knew- or at least believed- that this had to happen. But at the same time, there was a harsh and clear truth- I was now a murderer, and if I did not succeed, Mizuhara-san would have died for nothing. If my secret was revealed, everything I had worked for would be voided. There was no other way... at least, that was what I thought.
So once again, I did what I always did- I took the coward's way out and refused to accept responsibility for my actions, covering up my mistakes with misdeeds and my misdeeds with lies. But even so, some part of my conscience knew that what I had done was unacceptable, and I broke down and wept for the person I had become.
End of Flashback
"At that point, Miura-san arrived," Mitamura-san said, "still under the impression that Mizuhara-san had been poisoned... for the moment."
My mind went back to my last conversation with Mizuhara-kun, and I had to wonder why he had chosen to show Mitamura-san his notepad- was it because he trusted her, because he didn't trust Sugiura-san, or some combination of the two? I didn't know him well enough to say, though.
"You know," I said, "Mizuhara-kun was acting oddly before his death, specifically when it came to Sugiura-san's talent. He must have had quite a dilemma- keep the information secret, and possibly enable Sugiura-san to kill someone, or tell everyone, which might lead to someone killing Sugiura-san. There weren't any good choices."
"I'd hoped that Sugiura-san's talent would make her the immediate suspect," Mitamura-san said, "but it seems I was figured out. The rest is as Miura-san said."
Iwasawa-san shook her head. She could believe that Mitamura-san had done it, given that Mitamura-san had confessed and Monokuma had confirmed that we'd convicted the right person, but she couldn't quite get her head around someone she admired planning and committing cold-blooded murder.
"I know, Miss Mitamura," Iwasawa-san said, "but you still haven't answered my question. What weakness of yours could be so bad that you'd kill to keep it secret?"
"I am sorry, Iwasawa-san, but I refuse to answer," Mitamura-san said. "I am not long for this world, and know none of you will forgive me, but this is one secret I must take to my grave."
"That's where I come in!" Monokuma said. "As headmaster, I have detailed information on all my students, in this Master Notepad. Here, have a look!"
Monokuma got out the pad, which was plugged into his seat, and started it up. The screen nearby showed a 4x4 grid of all the students, even the dead ones, and Monokuma selected Mitamura-san's portrait.
"Mitamura-san is a perfectionist by nature and can't abide the thought of having made a mistake. Bring up the time she cheated on a math exam back at her old school, and she might just take your life... or her own."
The tablet then showed a piece of evidence- text showing the school Mitamura-san attended, the day and time she took the test, the teacher who was the proctor for the exam, and even her method of cheating.
Now, whose tablet has this weakness? Let's see...
Momo Iwasawa!
Both Iwasawa-san and Mitamura-san were utterly horrified. The former knew beyond all shadow of a doubt that she'd inadvertently helped cause a murder, while the dark secret that the latter had killed to keep under wraps had come to light.
"So... that's what you meant?" I said.
"I-It is," Mitamura-san said. "It's what I hoped you would never learn about me, something I would sooner die than see come to light. Monokuma-san chose my weakness well."
"Why'd you even need to cheat in the first place, Reiko-chan?" Yuuki-san said. "You seem really smart, so getting good grades shouldn't be a problem for you."
Mitamura-san shook her head.
"It was around the time I got scouted," Mitamura-san said, "and between the meetings with talent scouts and my other duties, I had fallen behind in my studies. I was so nervous about how my parents or Talent High School would react if I did poorly on a test, so I cheated. At the time, I had assumed that I had not gotten caught, and felt secure... until the information came up again."
"All this over just cheating?" Yuuki-san said.
"Academic dishonesty is taken very seriously," Mitamura-san said. "In my case, if people learned I had cheated once, they would likely wonder whether I had done so in the past, thus ruining my reputation. My family severely punishes failure and even more severely punishes intentional misconduct- not only had I cheated, but I didn't even have the courage to admit it. I had much to lose if word of this got out- the respect of my peers and teachers, my enrollment in Talent High School, and even my place in my family. My status as a role model is something I have worked to build for my entire life, and if I lost that, I would be left with nothing."
All this time, while Mitamura-san had came off as a seemingly perfect, or at least almost perfect, young lady, there had always been something a bit off about her, a discrepancy between the person she was and the person she was trying to be. We all put on facades for the sake of being socially acceptable, and none of us could play that part perfectly well. Mitamura-san, however, couldn't accept falling short of that idea, which must have driven her to cheat and to kill.
Mitamura-san choked back a sob, and tears began streaming down her face.
"But none of that matters now," Mitamura-san said. "This is who I am... someone who cheats rather than accept a bad grade, someone who kills to keep her skeletons in the closet, and someone who aspires to be perfect, but is not even good. I have been lying to almost everyone for as long as I can remember- those who admire me and those in authority- trying to be someone I am not. Now... it is time for the masquerade to end."
Mitamura-san then deeply bowed in apology.
"Iwasawa-san, I am sorry that I deceived you. Sugiura-san, I am so sorry for framing you."
Sugiura-san bitterly frowned, while Iwasawa-san wept, heartbroken at learning the truth about someone she'd respected.
"I... accept your apology, Miss Mitamura," Iwasawa said. "But why? I really thought I knew you."
"The person you knew was who I wanted to be, and perhaps who I wanted to believe I was," Mitamura-san said. "I had hoped to be thought of as someone you could look up to and rely on, more for my sake than yours. I was always expected to be that sort of person, and eventually, I enjoyed it as well. That is why I never could accept being anything less than perfect, even if it was only a lie."
"Hmmph," Sugiura-san said. "I never really accepted you as our leader, you know. I can't say I'm disappointed."
"I understand, Sugiura-san," Mitamura-san said. "I have done something unforgivable to you."
"I will say this, though," Sugiura-san said. "I may not have poisoned Mizuhara, but I do bear some responsibility for what happened. I trusted you enough to lower my guard, and because I did, you were able to kill him. You might be the only one who's getting executed for that, but I deserve some of the blame."
Sugiura-san's face was placid. She didn't have much sympathy for Mitamura-san, but took no pleasure in this turn events. Neither did Hoshino-kun, the only other person still alive who hadn't voted for Mitamura-san to be our leaeder.
"Hoshino-san, you have been quiet since the verdict," Mitamura-san said. "I thought you would have something to say."
"I do now," Hoshino-kun said. "We've had our differences, Mitamura, but believe me when I say that I never wanted things to come to this. I had my suspicions that you weren't really a good person at heart, but I didn't want to be right about that."
"I hope you're all done with your goodbyes to your dear leader, " Monokuma said, "because it's that time again."
"Yes," Mitamura-san said as she dried her eyes. "The time when I pay for all my crimes, past and present."
As I looked around, I saw a variety of reactions, from horror to grim acceptance, among the eleven other spotless. Some of us disagreed with Mitamura-san on various things, others had never wanted her to lead us, and all of us had voted for her, but none of us wanted her to die.
"Now then, I've prepared a very special punishment for the Ultimate Proofreader."
"Everyone, please do not mourn me," Mitamura-san said. "This...is what I deserve."
"Let's give it everything we've got! IT'S PUNISHMENT TIME!"
Game Over
Mitamura-san has been found guilty.
Time for the punishment!
The Ultimate Proofreader, Reiko Mitamura's Execution: Executed
Even Monokuma Makes Mistakes In Writing
Mitamura-san was pinned to a large white wall, with metal restraints on her wrists and ankles keeping her in a crucified position. Metal spikes were driven through the palms of her hands and both her feet, so she was undoubtedly in terrible pain as she was suspended.
Monokuma used a large paintbrush to carve out the kanji for her name, which was written in red. Each stroke barely missed her, but Mitamura-san, her face pale and sweaty, knew Monokuma was only delaying the inevitable.
Finally, as a last stroke, Monokuma picked up the utensil, aimed carefully, and threw it. It soared through the air and reached its target- Mitamura-san's heart. Blood poured from the wound and Mitamura-san's mouth, soaking her otherwise immaculate uniform and dripping down the kanji for her name.
Before long, the blood flow stopped, and Mitamura-san's body went still. She'd almost certainly bled to death by this point, but Monokuma wasn't done with her just yet.
As a final insult, Monokuma took out a large stamp, and rammed it into Mitamura-san's body. Her corpse was reduced to a fine red puddle, at which point Monokuma slammed ithe stamp into the wall again, creating a red circle with a blank space for the kanji for "Perfect" as one final mockery of Mitamura-san.
The courtroom was silent once again in the wake of Mitamura-san's demise. Not only had we lost the fourth member of our group of sixteen, but we'd also lost our leader.
Yuuki-san was doubled over near her seat, having vomited up her dinner all over her uniform. Iwasawa-san was down on her knees, likely praying for Mitamura-san's soul. Hoshino-kun stared off into the distance, not at all happy about the death of the girl he'd disliked the most.
"Wow, talk about a twist!" Monokuma said. "I had no idea Miss Goody Two Shoes was so wrapped up in something that doesn't matter anymore, that she'd kill in order to keep it secret!"
"Oh, really?" I said. "So why did you put our weaknesses in the notepads if you didn't hope that we'd kill each other over it?"
"To see which of you were still attached to the outside world," Monokuma said. "Mitamura-san didn't just want to go back, but she wanted to keep her squeaky clean rep, and she was willing to kill all of you to do that. Who's to say that the rest of you bastards are any better than she is?"
No one answered Monokuma's question.
"I thought not," Monokuma said. "When it comes down to it, the Ultimates are just like anyone else- they'll do anything to survive and escape from here. It's too bad, really."
"What do you mean?" Iwasawa-san said.
"Don't you get it, Iwasawa-san?" Monokuma said. "Mitamura-san isn't the only one of you lot people look up to. If word got out that you Ultimates killed each other, then they'd be as disappointed in you as you were in Mitamura-san."
"If word got out?" I said. "Are you saying that you have a method of informing everyone else about what's going on in here?"
"Whoops, I nearly spilled the beans, there!" Monokuma said. "You've got enough to digest for now, so I'll let you all go for the night. Court is now adjourned!"
Monokuma then vanished. leaving the twelve of us in the courtroom. While Monokuma presumably hoped we'd leave in a timely manner, none of us felt like going anywhere for the moment.
"Are you all right, Momo-chan?" Yuuki-san said.
"Truthfully, no, Miss Yuuki," Iwasawa-san said. "I'm still having trouble coming to terms with the fact that Miss Mitamura would do such a thing. Am I really supposed to accept the answer she gave us?"
"It's the only one you'll get," Sugiura-san said. "Once Mitamura had her dirty secret exposed and she was sentenced to death, she didn't have any more reason to lie to us."
As Sugiura-san glanced around at the rest of us, I remembered that Mitamura-san hadn't been the only one whose secret had been exposed in the last trial. The two were similar in that they had spent many years cultivating a facade of respectability in order to fit in, which may have been why Sugiura-san had never fully trusted Mitamura-san. If Mitamura-san had been so desperate to preserve her facade (which, granted, had been endangered by her own actions), that she'd commit murder, what would Sugiura-san do now that everyone knew about her?
No one seemed to know the answer. In fact, no one was really sure what to do next. Ordinarily, Mitamura-san would tell us to return to our rooms to get some rest so that we'd be ready to explore the next floor tomorrow, so we couldn't help but wait for her orders even if she'd no longer be able to do give them. We hadn't necessarily blindly trusted her, but we had counted on there being someone to tell us what to do.
"So what now?" Hoshino-kun said. "Does this mean I can finally sleep in now that Mitamura isn't making us meet for breakfast anymore?"
I shook my head.
"I'd like to continue the breakfast meetings, at least for the moment" I said. "It's a convenient time to discuss things as a group, make plans and share ideas."
"Do what you want," Hoshino-kun said. "Just remember that in the end, Mitamura was purely out for herself, so how are you any better than her?"
I was a bit stunned to hear that,partly because he was parroting Monokuma's words, and partly because I had no good response. All I could offer at this point were promises, which were empty without anything backing them.
"It's true that trusting anyone implicitly can be unwise," Sensei said, "but I do believe that Miura-san is trustworthy. Rather than seek perfection, Miura-san tries to be a good person, which is the most we can hope for."
I bowed in gratitude, saying, "Thank you, Sensei," while Hoshino-kun shrugged.
"If you say so," Hoshino-kun said. "Maybe Miura has good intentions, but that doesn't go very far in a killing game. Even if she doesn't kill someone, I'm sure someone else will, sooner or later."
Hoshino-kun walked off, toward the elevator, shooting Sugiura-san a glare over his shoulder. Once again, he had a point- I didn't know how to stop people from killing each others, even without Monokuma's motives expediting the process. Still, someone had to think about everyone else's well-being and keep the others on track to finding a way out of here, and if I could contribute to that end, then that was what I would do.
We rode up in the elevator once again, which was noticeably more spacious now that a fourth of us were the others left. After the others went their separate ways, since it was already Night Time, Sensei came up to me.
"You seem troubled, Miura-san," Sensei said. "Is something on your mind?"
"I was thinking about Mizuhara-kun," I said. "No one really knew him very well, so I'm worried people will just forget him once the trial is over."
"I'm not so sure," Sensei said. "He may have been the second of us to be murdered, and the third of us to die, but we haven't seen enough death to become jaded just yet."
"You're probably right," I said. "Still, while the rest of us will probably remember his death, they may not remember his life- at least not as anything other than the Ultimate Fisherman. He and I weren't really friends, but I feel like I owe it to him to keep his memory alive."
"That's good," Sensei said. "Perhaps the Ultimates are idealized, as all minor celebrities are, but they're also people, first and foremost."
I wondered if Kagami-kun had also shared his theory about how fallible the Ultimates could be with Sensei, but realized that wasn't necessarily the case. The lesson had been driven home for everyone else after we'd learned of Mitamura-san's wrongdoing, so perhaps Kagami-kun was merely a bit quicker to realize it than everyone else was.
At the time, I'd agreed with him, but in reality, I'd missed the point. Two weeks- or rather, two years- ago, all I knew about Sensei was that she wrote some of my favorite books. I had no idea that she was a bit of a loner, a bisexual, fond of porn magazines, or a kind and surprisingly humble girl with a good sense of humor, among many other things."
"I know," I said. "When we first got here, I looked up to you as my favorite author, seeing you as an Ultimate first and foremost. After talking with you these past few days, I still think you're an amazing writer, but know that there isn't all there is to you. I'm sorry I didn't see it sooner."
Sensei shrugged, and for a moment, I wasn't sure she believed me. After a moment, though, I recognized it for what it was- expressing that she didn't think there was anything to forgive.
"Maybe," Sensei said, "but if so, it's never too late to own up to your mistakes. That's the lesson Mitamura-san should have learned."
I nodded. Perhaps in another lifetime, Mitamura-san might have been caught cheating, or turned herself in. She would have been punished, and received a permanent blemish on her otherwise perfect record, but someone as hard-working as her could have atoned for this transgression, and eventually earned redemption. It was too late for that now, but it wasn't too late for me.
"I agree" I said, "I'm looking forward to getting to know you better, Sensei- or rather, Edogawa-san."
Edogawa-san smiled. A part of me was tempted to ask her for permission to call her by her first name, but I thought better of it. My family was quite formal, for the most part, since Mom called Dad "Miura-san," until they were engaged, and only switched to "Kouichi-san" after she changed her name and became a Miura.
"So am I, Miura-san," Edogawa-san said.
We parted ways for the night, but a part of me felt uneasy. This was not the first murder case and would not be the last, so I had to ask myself. How many of the people I knew and liked would I find dead, without any opportunity to say goodbye to them? How many friends would I have to sentence to death? The prospect of one of the others, including Edogawa-san dying or turning out to be a murderer was a disturbing one, because I cared about those individuals so much. Still, no matter how painful or difficult it could be, I swore to remember those who had been lost, and do what I could to ensure that those who were left could escape.
End of Chapter II
Students Remaining: 12
Red Armband: A memento of Mitamura. She wore it with pride as a member of her school's morals committee.
Author's Notes
Thank you for the reviews, and congratulations to Jess for guessing Mitamura's identity as the culprit.
Mitamura was a fairly challenging character to write, as I wanted to gradually reveal her more selfish and less noble motives for taking on her responsibilities without being too obvious about it, and gradually nudge her toward doing something terrible while showing she still has enough of a conscience to regret it. Her upbringing and being pressured to be perfect do not excuse her actions, but they do explain why she feels the need to pretend to be a better person than she actually is.
I also tried not to make her too obvious of a culprit, since while her downfall was largely inevitable, I tried to ensure that the evidence didn't too easily link her to the murder.
The post-trial part was fairly long- I've noticed that the second trials tend to have a fair amount of exposition after the trial, some of which sheds more light on what happened.
Chapter III may take a little longer to come out, since while I've written much of it out, I'll also need to divide it into parts and flesh out some scenes. In the mean time, though, you'll probably get another Free Time Event or two, in addition to the five that are already up- Kurogane, Mitamura, Hoshino, Iwasawa and Mizuhara.
I edited to make some things clearer, and, for the sake of consistency, have Monokuma refer to Mitamura by her title when announcing her punishment. As a little bonus, here's what would be an example of Psyche Taxi, which, if this were an actual playable trial, would be after the Argument Armament battle against Iwasawa (who, like Ishimaru in the original game, refuses to accept the culprit's guilt).
Omake
Psyche Taxi
Within my own imagination, I found myself behind the wheel of a pink taxi on a lonely two-lane desert highway. Driving the car was easier than I'd imagined, even considering that I was seated on the left, rather than the right, since I didn't have to worry about driving on the right side of the road or any other traffic laws. All I had to do was avoid the other cars and grab the various cubes by running them over.
As I ran over the cubes, pairs of letters became fragments of words, and a whole sentence eventually formed- a question I'd need to answer. At this point, the highway split into three lanes
Who had Sugiura's weakness?
There were three answers- Mitamura, Mizuhara and Iwasawa- each represented by pink silhouettes of women on the road, from left to right. This one was fairly obvious, so I selected "Mizuhara" the only way I knew how- driving down the center lane running over the woman who represented the answer. The woman sailed through the air and landed in the passenger seat of my car.
After what was probably several dozen kilometers of driving and gathering word cubes, I had the next question:
Who had Mizuhara's weakness?
Three more answers were shown- Sugiura, Iwasawa and Mitamura- and the choice was a bit trickier this time. Sugiura-san had shown us that she had Iwasawa-san's weakness, so she obviously wasn't the right answer, but what about the other two? Could Monokuma be believed when he said Mitamura-san had her weakness? It seemed most likely, so I went with that answer, which turned out to be correct. When I struck the second woman, she flew through the air, into the back seat of my cab.
After another long drive, which probably raised the first woman's fares to astronomical heights, one last question remained.
Who had Mitamura's weakness?
Three answers remained- Iwasawa, Sugiura and Miura. I obviously didn't have it, and Sugiura-san didn't have it, either, so Iwasawa-san was the only logical choice. It all made sense- Mitamura-san had the means to murder Mizuhara-kun all along, but didn't have a reason until she learned that Iwasawa-san had her motive. At full speed, I rammed into the last woman, who landed next to the second woman.
Finally, I reached my final destination as I reached my conclusion, and found myself back in the courtroom.
"I think I understand how everything worked out," I said. "Mizuhara-kun ended up with information proving that Sugiura-san was the Ultimate Poisoner, and a message erroneously saying that Sugiura-san was the one who had his weakness. Mitamura-san, who knew how to take advantage of Mizuhara-kun's allergies, used that knowledge to kill him and frame Sugiura-san. Why did she do this? It was because when Iwasawa-san asked Mitamura-san to repair her notepad, Mitamura-san learned her own notepad."
"Quite an impressive deduction, Miura-san," Sensei said. "How did you figure that out?"
"By driving a taxi down the freeway and ramming into people to find the answers," I said.
Everyone looked at me speechlessly, having no idea what to say to my blunt yet accurate description of my thought process.